And Keep Your Enemies Closer
by Beyond-BB-Birthday
Summary: It's a shame that it had to turn out the way it did; if I'd really tried, I could've made him stay. Kyouya/Tamaki


"_Kyouya."_

_The addressed young man turned to face his father._

_"Chairman Suou's son is transferring to Ouran today. The Suou Conglomerate and us, we have deep business ties."_

_Kyouya said nothing._

_"They also own many businesses that are in direct competition with ours. In fact, Suou is in a position where he is able to buy out one of our major enterprises. It would be beneficial for you to become friends with him. As they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer."_

_With his usual fake smile and bright eyes, Kyouya nodded. "Understood."_

* * *

><p>I stood in confusion as I shook hands with Tamaki Suou for the first time, because I was so used to seeing through people. And this kid… I just didn't understand him.<p>

"Ootori-kun, Have you ever been to Kyoto? I've always wanted to go to Kyoto," the blonde informed me, grinning like a child. He continued to ramble stupidly as my thoughts drifted away.

How is this guy the chairman's son? He's completely brain-dead… Unfortunately, I knew that was far from the truth; being the resourceful intellectual I am, I had, of course, looked him up. While he was no genius, he was near the top of all his classes, he played the piano at an immeasurable level and had been fluent in French, Japanese, English and Spanish by age twelve. In fact, he almost rivalled my own intelligence; he would do if he didn't appear to be such an idiot.

To be honest, he fascinated me. Heir to his father's massive empire, and here he was, babbling about kotatsu and the Shiisaa. No, 'fascinated' isn't the right word. The word I wanted was 'infuriated'.

I ignored the unfairness of the situation, being stuck with this lunatic, and beamed. "Yeah, we should go to Kyoto together!"

Suou grinned and literally jumped for joy and I desperately tried not to roll my eyes.

"Can I call you by your first name now? Are we friends? Let's be best friends!" he exclaimed excitedly. I gave him a smile that was quickly becoming harder and harder to fake.

I remembered my father, his emotionless eyes as he had reminded me of the expectations on my shoulders.

"Definitely. Let's be best friends, Tamaki-kun!"

* * *

><p>And so I babysat my new 'best friend' and took him to Kyoto and Osaka and Tokyo and put up with his crap for weeks.<p>

"I don't fucking get it!" I ranted, not caring how unprofessional I was being. My sister just nodded sympathetically. "It's like he's bipolar or has a split personality or something!" I punched a nearby wall.

I felt bad when my sister finally spoke, worry and fear evident in her soft voice. "Kyouya, you don't _have_ to be friends with him!"

I calmed down a bit and looked over to her. "Fuyumi… I'm the third son. You know what that means. I have to live up to my brothers, no matter what."

Fuyumi just nodded. "Well, if you insist, maybe you can find some common ground. Something you both like?"

I knew she was only trying to help, but I was too pissed off to care. "Like what, being a stupid fuck? That's the only thing Suou does!"

I could be a real dick sometimes, but my sister ignored my rudeness and left me to wallow in my own self-pity. After a few minutes of calming down, my cell phone buzzed.

"Great," I murmured, seeing that bastard's name alight on the screen. I flipped it open and said 'hello'.

"Hey, Kyouya-kun! Let's do something fun, yeah? Let's go to the beach or something!"

Using a massive amount of self-control I honestly didn't think I possessed, I agreed.

* * *

><p>I tried to hate him as he played my grand piano for my family.<p>

But God, he was amazing. Even better than my sister and I, and we'd been taking lessons since age three.

"He's beautiful, don't you think?"

I turned to my sister and saw tears welling in her eyes. She blushed at her Freudian slip. "His playing, I mean."

I looked back to Suou, his normally playful face turned serious and focused. "Yeah. He is beautiful." I tilted my head so the glare on my glasses would hide my own tearing eyes.

When my brothers and Fuyumi left and I got control of myself, we sat on the sofa with my mother's insisted tea in front of us untouched.

"Sorry for dropping by so suddenly like this," he said quietly. I immediately thought of something rude in response to this statement, but it didn't feel genuine. It was almost as if his playing had taken away all of my spite.

"Your house is really big," he noted, glancing around the piano hall. "Are you the heir to the Ootori family?"

I scowled. Suddenly, I was back to hating him. "No, that's impossible. I have two older brothers. I'll be working under them," I informed him as calmly as possible.

The Frenchman gave me a curious look. "Huh. You don't seem happy about that." I turned away from him to roll my eyes at his tactlessness. "Why are you giving up so easily?"

I was amazed I didn't slap him, but instead replied, "I'm not. There's nothing I can do to please my father enough to make me the heir over my brothers. You wouldn't know, being an only child," I added spitefully. "You don't have to try. You're automatically the heir."

After a moment, I realized what I'd said and how I'd said it.

Shit.

I looked back to Suou. He looked… sad? He wasn't angry?

"I'm not the heir."

I frowned. "What? You're the only son of the Suou line, aren't you?"

He laughed once with a melancholy tone and didn't look me in the eyes. "My grandmother… I'm an illegitimate child of my father's, so my grandmother doesn't like me. She's… testing me. I'm not even sure I_want_ to be the heir." He smiled and stared into space. "There's so many other things to do, you know?"

And that was it. That was the last straw. I scowled and stood up in frustration. "You idiot!" I spat, grabbing said idiot by the shirt and glaring daggers at him. "You're the one who's giving up! I try so fucking hard to be the best… to be good enough… and you! You don't even care! You're too immature to even fathom becoming the heir!"

I wanted to yell at him further, but I couldn't form coherent sentences any longer; I was too angry. After a moment, I realized I'd knocked the table over and I'd pushed my classmate to the floor and I was straddling him and my fist was in his shirt. I closed my eyes and sighed.

Any chance of befriending him was totally out the window. My father had asked me to do this one simple thing, and I couldn't even do that. Maybe I really wasn't fit to inherit my father's empire…

And all I could think of was this idiot's ability to see through me. He was smarter than he let on.

And then, Tamaki said something I will never forget: "No, you're wrong. You're the one who's not trying, Kyouya-kun."

I opened my eyes and looked into his. He smiled. After everything… he was smiling?

"I know we haven't been friends long, but I know you could surpass your brothers if you wanted to. You're smart. You're talented. You're attractive. So why are you doing this to yourself?" His tone was so soft and kind, and I could tell he meant everything he said.

And then, I knew. And I remembered my father's words at breakfast the day I met him, and I knew he was right, I knew I could surpass my brothers, and I knew how to do it.

So when Tamaki leaned closer to me, I let him take my first kiss. I relocated my hands to his shoulders and forced him closer to me. I tried desperately not to think of what a slut I was being, doing this just to get closer to him to please my father. Not that it was completely unpleasant.

After a moment, we broke for air and Tamaki looked at me funny. I could only hope that for once, he wouldn't be able to read me like a book.

"Sorry," he murmured, standing up. I noted the uncharacteristic red shade of his face and uncertainty in his eyes.

"N-no, it's okay," I replied, standing up myself.

Tamaki looked out the window and said quietly, "You must think I'm disgusting, I… I shouldn't have –"

I knew that if I was going to whore myself out I might as well do it right, so I kissed him again. Despite my calculating personality, I really wasn't sure of what to say afterwards. Luckily, Tamaki seemed proficient in this particular area and prevented the need to say anything by putting his lips to my jaw.

A split second later, footsteps echoed outside the hall and my sister appeared in the doorway. Luckily Tamaki had heard her coming too and quickly stepped away from me. He declared that he should get going, a smile trying to hide itself but failing.

After the socially obligatory dinner invitation I knew he'd reject anyways the blonde left and my sister asked why there was tea all over the floor.

* * *

><p>I half expected Tamaki to ignore what happened, but he didn't. I wasn't sure if I'd have preferred that or not, but I didn't dwell on it.<p>

"Hey, Kyouya," he greeted me on Monday morning, as cheerful and naïve as ever. "Now, I know that you're class president, and you probably don't want the whole school to think you're gay, so if you want to just be friends, I'd understand."

I was surprised that he'd think of that. I considered my options; I could accept his offer, knowing he still has feelings for me and protect my reputation as a straight-laced intellectual, or I could forfeit my heterosexuality and date Tamaki, thus getting even closer to him.

I smiled and made up my mind, placing my hand in his. If I thought about it logically, this was the correct choice: chances are that the other students wouldn't really care if I was gay, and having Tamaki resent me was the opposite of progress. I recalled my father's words. 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.

So that's exactly what I did.

"We should go to Mount Fuji!" Tamaki suggested one day at lunch, his childish eyes alight with excitement. We'd been to five major tourist cities, and I expected Fuji to be on his list of places to see.

"Sure," I replied. "Honshu is nice this time of year," I added between bites of unadon. After a moment, something occurred to me, and I removed my glasses. "W-would it, uh, would it be a date?" I asked quietly.

Tamaki smiled. "Only if you want it to be."

I replaced my glasses on my nose and forced a smile. "I'd like that," I lied. Tamaki grinned and returned to his own meal, and I sighed quietly to myself.

* * *

><p>"C'mon, Kyouya, it'll be fun!"<p>

I scoffed and continued ignoring him. I typed away at my laptop, trying desperately to finish this history paper that was due tomorrow. It wasn't very like me to leave such an important essay until the last minute, but that's what happens when you're friends with Tamaki – every minute is spent trying to keep up with his ridiculous ideas, much like this one. The 'Host Club'.

"I already know who'll be in it! It'll be me, you, Mitsukuni Haninozuka-senpai and Takashi Morinozuka-senpai from the high school and those twins from a year below us, the Hitachiins. It'll be great, Kyouya. Something to occupy our time, you know? School just gets so boring sometimes!"

With a sigh, I closed my laptop and stood up from my desk. Clearly, getting work done is impossible around Tamaki Suou, who was staring out my bedroom window at the nice spring day outside.

"What about money? What about school? Do you know how much time chairing a club takes up?" I asked him in exasperation. There were so many things Tamaki didn't think about when formulating these crazy schemes of his. "And what about us? Wouldn't we have to break up?"

The blonde jerked his head from the window towards me and frowned. "Of course not! Why would we?"

I gave him a look. "This 'Host Club'. It's about flirting with girls, right?"

My boyfriend chuckled and shook his head. "So you're jealous?" He grinned playfully.

Despite that being very far from the truth, I blushed. "No, I just don't think you get it: everyone at Ouran thinks we're gay."

Tamaki laughed. "I don't think _you_ get it, Kyouya. Chicks love that! I don't know what it is, but girls love gay guys!"

It was my turn to laugh. "But we're _not_gay!" I couldn't help laughing at this entire situation; everything from this horrible club idea to the fact that I've deluded this idiot into thinking I'm attracted to him for almost three months.

Tamaki gave me a look I couldn't read. It was much too serious for the circumstances. He closed the short distance between us, kissed me chastely and took my hand.

"Kyouya, please. Help me start the Ouran High School Host Club."

I sighed. I knew right from the get-go that I'd end up saying 'yes' eventually. I always say 'yes' to Tamaki, I probably always will.

* * *

><p>My hands were lost in his hair and his tongue was working its way past my teeth expertly. I tried to keep him quiet as we made out; my sister was already catching on to us and the last thing I needed was his loud mouth giving us away.<p>

But then he moaned against my lips and _God_ it was sexy, so I let him get away with it.

I knew I was attractive, but I still felt self-conscious whenever he'd take my shirt off, if only on the most primal level of that of a hormonal teenager. I always wondered how Tamaki managed not to blush when it was him who was half-naked.

When both our uniform shirts were on my bedroom floor, he glued his mouth to mine again and I ran my hands up his torso.

I did (and still do) consider myself straight, but even in the most heterosexual way, he really is gorgeous.

We'd been together almost six months, and Tamaki never really hinted that he wanted to go farther than second base, so I figured he was a virgin. I also figured he wouldn't want his first time to be with a guy, so I wasn't worried.

Until now.

His mouth didn't leave mine as he placed a hand on my crotch as if it were the most natural place in the world for his hand to be.

I broke our kiss and looked up at the Frenchman leaning over me with a confused look. He gave me a smile and placed a hand on my cheek. "Kyouya, I think I love you."

I was caught completely off guard, so naturally I blushed heavily. Obviously I had no choice… "I love you too, Tamaki," I told him, feeling slightly dirty.

He beamed and our lips met again and I felt him go for my belt. I had to consciously fight the urge to stop him, but eventually the line was crossed and I knew it was too late. It was happening.

Seconds later, his mouth was everywhere it shouldn't have been, and it felt so amazing and I hated myself and I couldn't think straight for the life of me.

"Oh my God, T-Tamaki…" I groaned as quietly as possible, unconsciously snaking my fingers into his hair as he sucked me off expertly and I wondered if he'd really never done this before.

He opened his eyes that I hadn't realized he'd closed and looked up to me. It was a look full of lust and just _Tamaki_. He bobbed his head quickly, speeding up impossibly further, his eyes still on mine.

I let a very unmasculine sound out of my throat and tried not to think about how much of a whore I was.

A moment later the heat was gone and he removed the rest of his own clothing in a rather seductive manner. I honestly thought it should've been a challenge for me to get hard, but he really was hot. (Again, in the most heterosexual way possible). Anyone could get hard looking at him.

We kissed again, Tamaki purposely pressing his hips against mine and grinding against me. I gasped in surprise and I realized I had to find something to use as makeshift lube. _Soon._

"Tamaki… second drawer in m-my desk," I managed to sputter out pathetically. He understood nonetheless and reluctantly left the bed to retrieve an unused tube of that hand cream my sister was always giving me.

He tossed it to me and I poured some onto my hand and it suddenly hit me: I was about to lose my virginity to my best friend. A guy I'm not even sure I like as a person let alone as a boyfriend. I wasn't ready for that… but what choice did I have?

I distracted myself with fingering the blonde as gently as possible and letting his moans of anticipation and pain go straight to my groin. (_Sadist_, I accused myself).

And just because I was a future medical student, I was aptly educated in the human anatomy. So I knew exactly where to find –

"NGH! Ky-youya!" he arched his back and bit his lip. "Fuck!" he swore.

After another few hits to Tamaki's prostate, I leaned up to kiss him; one of those slutty, messy open-mouthed kisses. Before I could say a word, he'd lowered himself onto me and groaned into my mouth.

He closed his eyes as I started to move at an impossibly slow tempo, desperately wanting to get it over with but not wanting to hurt him. I kissed him when I saw tears welling in his eyes.

"Ah, shit!" Tamaki moaned suddenly, his voice dripping with elation. He let his head fall back in pure pleasure. I tried to breathe normally but all I could do was gasp in heated pants.

He gradually picked up the pace, riding me harder and faster and _holy fuck he's hot_. Tamaki grinned at me and I realized I'd said that out loud. We leaned in for our mouths to meet and I could barely think, I couldn't breathe because I couldn't remember how to do.

Tamaki pressed his forehead to mine. "K-kyou…ya." He stuttered it against my lips and I was amazed that I didn't come then and there.

"Tamaki," I replied quietly, his violet eyes locked onto mine.

I focused on his tongue against mine and his sweat against mine and his chest against mine, and I didn't think about how horribly wrong this was because it sure as hell didn't feel wrong.

I bucked my hips suddenly, sending the blonde into a fit of ecstasy, screaming out in raw desire. "Fuck, so good!" he cried. Tamaki wrapped a hand around his own arousal and stroked himself with a lack of rhythm (I was surprised he was still able to move, much less in any defined pattern). He continued rolling his hips down onto me and just looking at him doing it was enough in itself. He whimpered and moaned my name as he tightened around me.

"Mmh, Ky-kyou… I'm, I'm – !" The blonde's abs contracted, his toes curled and he shuddered. He was surprisingly quiet as he came, too high on pleasure to formulate any sort of sound.

"God, Tamaki," I moaned much louder than I would've liked. "Fuck, I fucking love you," I hated myself as I released inside him, my heart pounding so hard I thought I might go into cardiac arrest.

Tamaki closed his eyes and smiled as he laid down next to me. I desperately tried to catch my breath. When I did, I went to say something, but Tamaki was passed out, his head on my chest.

"Keep your enemies closer, indeed," I whispered to myself and tried not to burst into tears.

* * *

><p>God, I really hated Tamaki sometimes. Now was one such time.<p>

"What did you say?" he shouted in fury to my attacker. "Say it again, fucker! I'll beat your fucking face in!"

The other guy looked genuinely afraid, and muttered something unintelligible as he walked away hurriedly down the street.

I sighed. "I coulda handled that m'self, T'maki," I informed the blonde tiredly, still slightly drunk. I knew telling him this was completely useless, as he was still seething in blind anger next to me. I picked my glasses up off the ground and wiped them on my shirt.

Neither of us said a word as I called my driver to come pick us up from the club. I rubbed my face where the guy had hit me and tried not to let Tamaki see that I was nursing what felt like and what I would later confirm to be two broken ribs.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked me worriedly after calming down a bit. I nodded and he took my hand.

As much as I'd like to think that being beaten up by a stranger is 'no big deal' and something I could've handled, I knew otherwise. Tamaki knew I was trying not to cry and kissed me softly, hugging me close.

"Thank you, T'maki," I murmured quietly, resting my shoulder on his head. It was cold and dark, and I really wanted to sleep.

"I'm so sorry," Tamaki said suddenly. "God, this is all my fault, I shouldn't have taken you here."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a child. Is's not like you kidnapped me, I _let you_ take m' here."

The blonde wouldn't let it go. "I know you don't like dancing, or drinking, but I do. That's why I brought you here: because I'm selfish."

I stood up straight though it really hurt my ribs. "No, Tamaki. I'm the one that got too drunk t' stand and picked a fight with that asshole. An' you helped me even though he coulda easily ripped you in two. Tha's not selfish."

Tamaki didn't reply. I resumed my earlier position – my head on his shoulder, leaning tiredly against the alley wall with my boyfriend's arm around me. I closed my eyes and felt my buzz begin to disappear.

"What did you say to him, anyway?" Tamaki asked quietly.

"Well, actually," I began uncomfortably. "He was coming onto me. And I kinda freaked out on him."

The taller boy froze.

"Is's okay," I reassured him. "Don' worry about it, okay? I'm fine now."

Tamaki looked like he wanted to run after the guy that had hit on me and kill him with his bare hands, but he simply nodded.

I'd never seen him so protective of me, so seriously worried about me.

And that's why I hated him: he was too considerate, too kind. When I thought of what I was doing to him, I hated _myself_.

* * *

><p>"Happy two-year anniversary!"<p>

I looked up from my laptop at Tamaki, who was grinning boyishly. I smiled, genuinely surprised that he'd remembered, simply due to his forgetfulness. He hadn't said anything during class, so he must've just remembered then.

The few customers that always came by early giggled when Tamaki said it, and squealed at the 'cuteness'.

"You remembered," I said, trying not to sound like I cared. Hikaru scoffed from across the room.

"Let me know when you get to sixteen years," he said with a smirk and a glance at Kaoru. The other middle schooler blushed and gave Hikaru a dirty look.

Another squeal that I tried ignoring.

It was bad enough being a whore without the whole school thinking it was 'cute'.

I shook it off and turned back to the other teenager. "Wanna do something tonight?" I asked.

Tamaki smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "That's not what I meant."

He laughed and patted me on the head degradingly. "I'll pick you up at seven." I snorted at his attempt to appear to be the 'man' so to speak. He was always rather insecure about his masculinity, having another guy fuck him regularly. It was understandable, so I let it slide.

I returned to my laptop and tuned out the customers screaming in fangirlish desire across the room.

Seeing as how Tamaki is very, very rich (not that I'm not very, very rich as well), we naturally went to a very upscale restaurant, just like for our one-year anniversary.

Saying it like that sounds absurd. Two years? Two years I'd been kissing, touching and sleeping with Tamaki. As we dined, I couldn't help wondering how long it'd be before Tamaki lost interest in me and broke up with me.

And then I scared myself deeply: what if he never loses interest in me? What if I end up marrying this lunatic?

I almost laughed out loud at the thought.

When I really thought about it practically, dating Tamaki wasn't horrible. He really was a nice guy, and he was obviously something to look at. Gradually, I could see this evolving from a smart business decision to a real relationship.

And that scared me even more.

* * *

><p>I honestly didn't expect the Host Club, now practically a thriving business, to catch on at Ouran. Not because there was a lacking amount of self-conscious fangirls but because there didn't appear to be even one straight guy in the club. It boggled my mind, these stupid girls swooning as Tamaki flirted with them even though they knew we were dating.<p>

The twins were the worst; they could literally make out in front of a group of girls and they would still find them 'cute' and designate them the rest of the year. I would watch in shock as Tamaki encouraged their 'brotherly love act' - it really was very disturbing at first, but I guess I'm used to it now. In fact, if a day goes by _without_ the twins making some crude joke about their sex life, it seems odd.

Then there's Honey, the 'shota' type. (Tamaki's idea, not mine.) For about a month, I was convinced that he was secretly an elementary school kid and that Tamaki was an idiot for thinking he was host material. I'm not great with first impressions, apparently, because he's immensely popular. He's actually a really smart kid, but it took me a while to figure that out. I think he's the only one that sees what I'm doing to Tamaki. He's not as naïve as everyone thinks he is.

Mori, he's interesting. He rarely speaks, so he's not as irritating as the others. He almost never sticks his nose into my business (unlike the twins), so I find him to be a good guy. I think Tamaki has a fetish for incest, though, since Mori is completely enamoured with Honey.

I know a lot of crap about them.

So naturally, when Haruhi came along, I knew right away that she was a girl. It was pretty amusing to watch Tamaki figure it out, though. He can really be an idiot.

"Hey, Kyo-chan!" I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to Honey, who'd just woken up from a nap. "Where's everyone else?"

I glanced around the music room, empty save for Mori, Honey and I. "Hikaru and Kaoru are sick, and Tamaki went shopping with Haruhi for 'commoner's coffee'." I returned to my laptop where I was desperately trying to catch up on the massive amounts of homework I'd been missing, between the Host Club and babysitting/dating Tamaki.

"Hika-chan and Kao-chan are both sick?" the blonde wondered aloud. "That's weird! What do they have?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, Tamaki told me this morning." I almost thought it amusing that both twins were sick at the same time – very like Hikaru and Kaoru.

"HEY!" Honey shouted suddenly. "We're out of cake, Kyo-chan!"

"Check the other cupboard, on top."

Mori checked for him as it was too high for Honey. "Nope," he said stoically. Honey looked like he wanted to cry.

I sighed. "Calm down, I'll get Tamaki and Haruhi to pick some up." I reached for my phone and slid it open to call the blonde.

"Hey, Tamaki. We're –"

"Put him on speaker, I have a list of different kinds of cake we need!"

I rolled my eyes, but did as Honey said. The second I pressed the 'speakerphone' button, Haruhi's soft voice echoed throughout the room; she was laughing. "Tamaki?"

"Yeah, S-sorry, Kyouya," he replied between pants of his own laughter.

I closed my eyes. "What are you doing? I sent you to get coffee!"

They kept laughing and the blonde apologized. "Whatever. We're out of cake, will you pick some up while you're at the supermarket?" I asked in frustration at the teenager's inability to perform a simple task like buying coffee.

"No problem," he replied, still giggling with Haruhi.

Honey took the phone and walked away, reciting off his list of cakes he wanted. I noticed Mori standing behind me with an interested look on his face, a huge contrast to the _nothing_that's usually there.

"Are you… jealous?" he asked bluntly. I snorted.

"Of Tamaki? Hardly."

Mori shook his head. "No. Of Haruhi."

I blushed and turned back to my laptop. That did make more sense. "Of course not."

Mori walked away and I heard him murmur, "Definitely jealous."

"NO I'M NOT!" I called after him monotonously.

* * *

><p>"I love you," I murmured quietly into his neck before pressing my lips to it.<p>

Tamaki sighed in contentment. "Love you too," he said with a hum. I placed a hand on the back of the other teen's neck and kissed him gently. I was almost unaware of my hand snaking up his shirt until he moaned at the touch. Tamaki lazily worked his tongue into my mouth and I reciprocated the action.

"We have to get up early tomorrow," Tamaki reminded me in disappointment when we broke apart. "Let's go to sleep."

I sighed. "It's only eleven," I stated uselessly. I knew what I was like when I had to get up early and Tamaki knew that _nothing_was worth dealing with me going without sleep.

He kissed me again. "Tomorrow," he said firmly. It sounded almost like me – Tamaki wasn't often the one to refuse sex.

I conceded, turning off the lights and sharing one more kiss before going to sleep.

When I woke up at the ungodly hour of six-thirty in the morning, I was just as pissy as expected, not bothering to conceal my displeasure of having to get to school early to set up for Tamaki's stupid club event later in the day.

Tamaki emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist and wet hair. "Good morning, my love. How are we _ce beau matin_?" he asked in a very 'prince-type'-like tone.

I scowled as he threw open the curtains and the sun assaulted my eyes. "Fuck off, Tamaki. What time did you get up, anyway?"

The blonde was unfazed by my insult, as expected. "Five."

I reached for my glasses and wondered how this guy managed to be so cheery with only six hours of sleep. I sighed and sat up, still dying to go back to sleep.

Tamaki noticed that I was still in bed and came over to me. "C'mon, Kyouya, we have to get up now," he told me patronizingly. "You want tonight's theme to be a hit, right?"

I was so bitchy I couldn't even recall the theme, nor did I care. After I still wouldn't budge, he switched tactics: shoving his tongue down my throat to coax me out of bed.

"Hey, lord, let's keep it PG, shall we?"

I shoved Tamaki off me and my head whipped around to my bedroom door, where the entire Host Club had somehow entered my room without me noticing. I scowled.

"What are you doing here? Get out of my room!" I watched in irritation as Haruhi and Mori headed for the door only to be stopped by their respective classmates.

Tamaki looked positively shocked, though I knew he was full of crap. "How dare you?" he asked dramatically. "This is not an appropriate scene for my daughter! Haruhi, cover your eyes! You mustn't see shirtless men before you are married!"

Hikaru helpfully pointed out that we'd just gone swimming last week and had therefore previously seen all of us bare-chested.

"I'm not a child, you know," Haruhi reminded us.

"STOP CORRUPTING MY DAUGHTER!" Tamaki exclaimed, ignoring the redhead's logic as well as Haruhi's statement. He covered Haruhi's eyes and forced her to leave the room.

"Tama-chan said you'd need help waking up so early!" Honey announced with a cheerful grin once the only girl had left. I snorted.

The twins grinned identically and said, "I don't think we can help him much more than the lord was…"

I facepalmed in exasperation. "If you're not all out of my room in ten seconds, you'll see what I'm truly capable of in the morning." I flashed the group my best 'evil Shadow King' eyes and they were gone in seconds.

Tamaki laughed and tossed my dress shirt onto my head. "Time to get dressed, Kyouya," he declared with that ever-present optimism dripping from his voice.

I swore at him, but eventually complied.

* * *

><p>I was plugging in figures onto my clipboard as I surveyed the music room. I noticed most of the girls watching some sort of spectacle between Tamaki and the twins across the room, so I headed over there to break it up.<p>

"Stop trying to rape my daughter!" Tamaki yelled at the Hitachiins, who each had one arm around Haruhi's waist. Haruhi looked unamused.

I pushed my glasses up on my nose and placed a hand on Tamaki's shoulder. "You're not Haruhi's father, Tamaki," I reminded him for the thousandth time that week. "And stop using 'daughter', there're customers around."

The blonde pointed at the twins. "But mom! Just look at them!" I sighed as the twins, who were now hand-in-hand with the brunette and skipping around with her.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Leave Haruhi alone! And Tamaki, stop calling me that."

The redheads pouted simultaneously, but complied, causing Tamaki to demand why they follow my orders but not his.

I don't know why it felt so bad to know that Tamaki had a thing for Haruhi – this was the way out of this relationship I'd been looking for (once he realized that his love for her isn't 'fatherly', that is). I refused to acknowledge the fact that I no longer _wanted_ a way out of this relationship.

I also refused to admit that I was jealous of her, even to myself.

* * *

><p>"This isn't what I m-meant," I stammered into Tamaki's mouth, "by 'talking'." He didn't seem to hear me as he assaulted my mouth again.<p>

After a moment, he pulled away and gave me a sly smile. "Sorry, Kyouya, what were you saying?"

I sighed and looked down at the floor. "I've been meaning to ask you something," I said uselessly. Tamaki could tell I was serious and nodded.

It took a lot, but I finally spit it out. "You're in love with Haruhi." It wasn't a question, because I wasn't really asking. "Aren't you?" I added as a desperate attempt to receive a negative answer.

Tamaki took a deep breath and looked at me. "One day, maybe a year ago, I went over to your place, but you weren't home."

I frowned. "What?"

"Your sister was there, though."

I still had no idea what he was getting at, but I just waited for him to continue.

"I always wondered if it was true… She said she felt bad for me. She knew what you were doing and she felt bad for me." His eyes didn't leave mine. "But I didn't believe her. And I still don't believe her."

I froze. "Wh-what are you talking about?" I managed to sputter out, despite knowing exactly what he was going to say next.

I'd never seen him so serious as he said, "She said you've been using me. To get close to me, so my father doesn't buy out your father's enterprise."

I briefly considered lying to him (I knew he'd believe me), but I saw the pain in his eyes, and I knew I couldn't do it anymore.

"Tamaki… I'm so sorry."

He looked away from me and laughed to himself solemnly.

"That… that was a long time ago," I told him. "That was why I became friends with you, but that's not why I'm still here."

He laughed again.

"I really do love you."

And then he lost it.

"You _fucker_!" he spat at me. He stood up and turned away from me. "I can't believe you… you…"

I was so close to crying that I was afraid to say anything for fear of him hearing it in my voice. I instead just listened as shouted insults at me.

"Why would you do all this just to please your father, Kyouya?" he asked after a few more minutes of swearing at me (one third in English, one third in French and one third in Japanese). "Why?"

I closed my eyes and swallowed the painful lump in my throat. "You said it yourself; I'm good enough to surpass my brothers. I just have to really try. So I did," I told him simply. "But do you really think I'd keep lying to you for this long?"

Tamaki finally turned around to face me and gave me a look of pure hatred. "Yeah, I do."

I finally couldn't control it any more as I let tears fall from my eyes and I cried silently. "I'm not lying, Tamaki. I _love_ you. So much," I admitted desperately. Our eyes met intensely and he finally answered my question from earlier.

"I don't know if I love Haruhi or not, Kyouya." I almost didn't care. "But either way, we're _over_."

I closed my eyes and nodded in defeat. "I'm sorry," I told him as he left my study silently.

"I know."

He paused. After a moment, he turned around to face me. "By the way," he added, his voice almost… smug? "I never would've let my father buy out Ootori, even if you never felt the same. So it was pretty useless, wasn't it? Wasting your time with me."

I felt like he'd slapped me. "Tamaki…" I held my head in my hands and cried as he closed the door behind him.

I'd spent my life in my siblings' shadows, never surpassing my brothers, never gaining my father's approval. I'd never succeeded. I'd never shown him that I was a worthy heir to the family name.

But I never felt more like a failure than I did now.

* * *

><p>AN: Sad ending is sad.

This is really the only way I can see any sort of relationship between these two. They're not the most canon pairing... XD


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